Donald Trump’s meeting in the Vatican with Volodymyr Zelensky was hailed by both sides as one for the history books.
Whether it will help seal a ceasefire deal between Ukraine and Russia will become clearer in the coming days.
Brought together by the funeral of Pope Francis, the US and Ukrainian presidents sat knee-to-knee on red and gold chairs in the giant nave of Saint Peter’s Basilica, in their first meeting since their blazing televised row in the Oval Office in February.
“How iconic,” Trump’s National Security Advisor Mike Waltz told Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures,” in the first detailed comments from the White House since Saturday’s encounter.
“That setting, that scene, that meeting is going to go down in the history books. For President Trump to be a president of peace, to be talking peace and diplomacy in the Vatican, of all places.”
Zelensky gave a similar verdict, saying it was a “very symbolic meeting that has potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results.”
French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also turned up at the meeting, reflecting efforts by European powers to keep an often skeptical Trump singing from the same hymn sheet.
And whatever Zelensky said during the Vatican encounter, it appeared to work.
Hours afterwards, Trump appeared to turn against Vladimir Putin for the first time — a sharp reversal given his recent favorable tone towards the Russian leader.
Trump said on Truth Social that Russia’s continued attacks “makes me think maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along” and raised the possibility of fresh sanctions on Moscow.
But Trump has ultimately shown increasing frustration and impatience with both sides, as he tries to secure a peace deal he once bragged he could seal within 24 hours.
And while the Zelensky meeting may have bought some time, the White House reiterated its stance that without rapid progress, it will soon walk away from its role as a broker.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that “this is going to be a very critical week” for efforts to end the war.
“We’re close, but we’re not close enough,” Rubio told NBC’s “Meet the Press” news program.
Waltz said that in the Vatican meeting, Trump wanted to “talk to Zelensky face-to-face and talk about how we’re going to get the largest land war in Europe to an end.”
“Both sides have to want that. He’s expressed his frustration with both sides, but yet his determination,” said the US national security advisor, who was also at the pope’s funeral.
Trump’s comments about Putin meanwhile reflected his frustration with Moscow’s refusal to commit to a ceasefire, despite a series of meetings between Russian and US officials.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff has held multiple face-to-face meetings with Putin in Russia in recent weeks.
Witkoff — who has been pictured warmly shaking hands with Putin and strolling with the Kremlin’s economic advisor in a shopping district — has however faced accusations from Ukraine of echoing Russian talking points.
The US property developer-turned-negotiator — who is also Trump’s point man on Gaza — insists that he is using his experience in making deals on a personal level to end the Ukraine war.
One other person in Trump’s close circle meanwhile gave a personal call for peace after the Rome trip — First Lady Melania Trump, who marked her 55th birthday on the day of the funeral.
“I had the honor of attending Pope Francis’s funeral, on this day, where I prayed for the healing of those who are suffering and for peace in the world,” she said on X on Sunday, along with a black and white picture of herself with eyes closed and a raised veil.
